


Cold Days

by brxkenarrxws



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Multi, basically robyn owns a dog shelter, ill add tags as i go on, inspired by several other fanfics, never heard of her, salem?, the discord app is mentioned a few times, the schnee siblings are diehard twd fans, theres some splashes of, whitley gets oscar as a best friend
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:09:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23134438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brxkenarrxws/pseuds/brxkenarrxws
Summary: After moving out of her abusive father's house, Winter takes her two younger siblings and moves out of Chicago to Maine, hoping that the newer setting will give her and her siblings a new life.When Winter meets a blonde-haired woman at a dog shelter, she starts to believe that leaving Chicago was one of the greatest choices she's ever made.
Relationships: Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, May Marigold/Fiona Thyme, Oscar Pine & Whitley Schnee, Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee, Robyn Hill/Winter Schnee
Comments: 31
Kudos: 74





	1. Welcome to Maine

_"Where do you think you're going?"_

_"We're leaving. Leaving this house, leaving Chicago."_

_"Oh, no you're not."_

_"Try and fucking stop me, **Jacques.** "_

* * *

That four-sentence conversation replayed over and over in Winter's mind as she stared out of the window on the plane. The idea of Winter and her siblings leaving just like that seemed so absurd, yet it had already happened. It was the outcome of a line being crossed. Actually, that's an understatement. The line was crossed by four hundred miles, give or take.

A weight on Winter's shoulder tore her out of her thoughts and she looked down only to see Weiss fast asleep against her. Whitley had his headphones on and was staring at the screen in the back of the seat in front of him, probably watching some documentary on a serial killer or paranormal activity in a house. He had odd tastes in movies.

It suddenly dawned on Winter that this must've been the first time in weeks since Whitley's been able to watch anything, as he was always busy getting yelled at by Jacques. Winter mentally scowled. 

Jacques was the worst kind of person she had ever met. Winter hated him so much that when he so much as _breathed_ she had to restrain herself from ramming her fist into his jaw.

Willow, Winter's mother as well as Whitley's and Weiss' mother, was a very broken woman who fell into an abyss of depression and alcoholism after Jacques admitted that he only married her for the Schnee name. It did not stop Willow from being a caring mother, though she was...absent every now and then with a glass of red wine in her hand.

Jacques was the complete _opposite_ of a caring parent. He was arrogant, selfish, and a fucking _coward_.

Winter had contemplated leaving Chicago and moving to a more secluded area but decided against it.

Until a line was crossed.

It was around midnight when Winter awoke to the sound of muffled shouting. Curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she wandered down the hall to the large library room where she was met with a scary sight.

Jacques had Weiss practically cornered in the far corner of the room, a broken device shattered and fragmented on the ground, probably by Jacques' heel. Tears were trickling down Weiss' face, her ice-blue eyes wide with fear. A dark bruise showed on Weiss' forearm and several thin cuts were scattered over Weiss' left cheek, the cuts bleeding slowly. A broken wine bottle lay on the hardwood floor, shards of glass scattered over the dark blue rug.

"I cannot believe you would let yourself become close to an animal! A fucking animal!" Jacques had shouted. 

"She-She isn't an animal..! She's a person!" Weiss choked out, her voice shaky. That's when it had clicked.

Weiss had begun telling Winter of a few friends she had made over an app called Discord. Winter wasn't very concerned about Weiss making friends online. The usernames these friends went by, according to Weiss, were _ScatteredRedPetals, BlackShadows,_ and _SunnyDragon._ Four more friends were mentioned, _LightningxThunder,_ _HelloPolarity, AwkwardBlondeBoi,_ and _RensPancakes_. They had apparently become very close friends over the app, even after _BlackShadows_ revealed she was a cat Faunus. Weiss didn't even seem angry. Yes, she was a little hurt that _BlackShadows_ didn't say something sooner, but everyone had accepted her as a Faunus.

Apparently, Jacques discovered Weiss' Discord account and the friends Weiss was associated with and had lost his mind.

Marching forward, Winter grabbed the back of Jacques' shirt collar and pulled him away, her face showing nothing but an ice-cold fury that could turn an Arizona summer into an Alaskan winter.

Winter stared Jacques down, shielding Weiss from the man who was supposed to be a father but had failed time and time again.

"If you want to keep your spotless reputation, don't want to end up with CPS on your ass, or get arrested, I highly suggest you leave this room _immediately_ and do not, I repeat, do _not_ touch Weiss, Whitley, or myself." Winter had growled, her eyes burning with hate. 

Winter was pulled out of her thoughts as the plane suddenly hit the black pavement. They had arrived. Nudging Weiss awake, Winter began putting the blanket the three of them shared back into the light blue duffel bag under her seat.

"Will we really be better off here?" Whitley asked as he unbuckled the seatbelt. Winter paused before answering.

"Any place is better than in Chicago," Winter replied. 

* * *

"Oh, isn't she cute?"

Winter perked up and turned around. It was around two in the afternoon in Maine, a state of commercial fishing, beaches, beautiful coastlines, and a fuck ton of stray animals. Klein, one of the butlers back in Chicago who was a _true_ father figure to the Schnee siblings, had used a couple of thousand dollars to buy Winter, Weiss, and Whitley a small but cozy house near the coastline. Klein was the one who actually suggested Maine to the eldest sibling, as it was quite nice and very tranquil, despite the constant screeching of birds and seagulls.

The three siblings had gotten themselves settled in the house before going for a walk to explore the small town. Winter's attention was now on Weiss who had kneeled down onto the ground and was scratching the top of a black dog's head. The dog seemed to be a black labrador with warm brown eyes. Its fur was a bit damp, either from the light fog or from running through the waves at the beach. Winter turned and approached Whitley and Weiss. Whitley was now stroking the black dog's back.

"She looks like a stray," Winter observed, kneeling down. Weiss shook her head.

"Nope, definitely owned. See the little bump behind her ear? She's microchipped." Weiss said, gesturing to a small lump behind the dog's left ear. Winter raised a dark eyebrow. Did dog owners in Maine just let their pets wander the streets or was this dog _previously_ a pet, and was now on her own?

The black canine suddenly looked over her shoulder, her ears pricked. After a moment, the black dog ran her tongue over each sibling's hand once before turning and bounding off to who knows where. Winter watched the dog disappeared into the fog before standing up.

"Well, seems she saw something interesting." Winter chuckled. Weiss seemed to be a little disappointed by the dog's sudden departure, but she stood up.

* * *

After wandering around town and getting Weiss a new scroll (Thank god for cloud backup by the way,) the Schnee siblings were back at the cozy house, sitting on the living room floor with Chinese takeout. They were watching one of their favorite shows: _The Walking Dead_.

They were on season two and were currently invested in the current scene. The characters in the show were all hiding beneath old cars on a highway to hide from the large hoard of walkers (Winter liked calling them walkers. "Zombies" seemed too childish of a term to use) that was shuffling and stumbling past their hiding spots. One of the other characters, Andrea, was hiding in the bathroom on the RV, struggling to put the pistol back together while a walker wandered through the rooms.

"She's gonna die," Weiss said before slurping up some noodles.

"Dale's right above her on the roof. He'd probably kill the walker before it got to Andrea." Whitley pointed out.

"Neither of them can use the gun. It doesn't have a silencer. Sounds attract walkers, remember?" Winter said, gesturing to the gun that had clattered onto the bathroom floor with an audible 'thud', and Andrea mouthed 'shit' in response.

"Yup. She's dead." Weiss said, leaning back against her duffel bag. The walker in the show began snarling loudly as it slammed itself against the bathroom door, causing Andrea to let out a scream. 

"I'm surprised she didn't draw any more walkers with the way she's screaming," Whitley said, raising an eyebrow. Dale had heard the screaming and was now looking down at Andrea through the sunroof. He shoved his hand into his pocket and fished out a long screwdriver and dropped it down to Andrea, who caught it and stabbed the walker's eye.

"Get shanked," Weiss said. Winter and Whitley let out soft chuckles that could have been borderline giggles.

As the episode neared its end, Weiss and Whitley had fallen asleep, empty takeout boxes beside them. Winter closed the laptop and began putting everything away. 

Once she returned, she rolled out their sleeping bags and tucked the two younger siblings into them. It had been so long since Winter had tucked either of them in, and it felt good to do it once more.


	2. Not Really A Stray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winter zones out while thinking and ends up downtown.
> 
> Right next to a dog shelter of all places.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #WhitleyDoesntSwearHePreciousOkay

"I sure hope you plan on eating all of that, Whitley." 

It was the siblings' first morning in Maine, and they were at one of the most popular diners in the small town. _Shoreline's Cafe and Breakfast_ was the name, and Winter found it...charming? She had a weird thing for anything beach or coastline related.

Each sibling ordered something they enjoyed, Winter ordered a French vanilla mocha and a warm blueberry croissant. Weiss had a small stack of pancakes with syrup and strawberries and a cup of green tea. Whitley's breakfast was...concerning if anything. The white-haired boy's breakfast consisted of french toast, a piece of bacon, no-yolk fried eggs, and a single pancake on the side. His choice of beverage was hot cocoa, which Winter found adorable and a bit childish, given that Whitley was what, almost fifteen?

Winter shrugged. "We can always get a to-go box, Weiss. But if he doesn't finish it by tomorrow or later today he's getting banished from watching _The Walking Dead_ with us." Winter said, grinning at her younger brother who pouted.

"You wouldn't heccing dare," Whitley said, pointing his fork at his eldest sister. Winter laughed softly.

"No promises. Eat your breakfast." Winter replied, sipping her coffee quietly. Whitley stuck his tongue out before going back to eating his breakfast and looking at Weiss' scroll, watching as she played a game. 

So far, Maine was actually quite nice. The state was more of a small island now due to earthquakes that had continued to reoccur in the past and break the state from the rest of the nation. It was still nice regardless that it was an island. Winter gazed out of the window, watching a blue pickup truck drive into the parking lot.

"Gooooood morning!" 

Winter turned around to see a short girl with ginger hair and teal-blue eyes stand at their table. She wore a pale blue and white apron with navy blue lining. She had a bright smile on her face and gave Winter an 'If I have coffee you should run' type of vibe.

"How's the food?" The waitress asked, rocking back and forth in faded magenta-colored sneakers.

"It's very good, thank you," Winter said, smiling.

"That's expected! Everything here is pretty much local. The pancakes you can actually thank my boyfriend for. He makes the best pancakes ever." the hyper girl said, smiling. Winter was about to reply when she was interrupted by the sound of Weiss groaning in defeat.

"Fucking _blasphemy_!" She said. Whitley laughed.

"I said to use the forcefield, but did you listen? Nope!" Whitley said, still continuing to laugh. Weiss jabbed him in the side with her middle and index finger. The waitress, Nora, judging by the name tag, gazed at Weiss with a curious expression. She quickly shook her head, as if shaking off a thought.

"Well, I gotta get back to work. Enjoy the food and call if you need anything!" Nora said, flashing a bright smile before turning on her heels and skipping back to the kitchen. Winter frowned slightly. Nora seemed like she knew Weiss, or maybe she thought she did. Shrugging, Winter resumed eating her breakfast, chuckling softly as Weiss smacked Whitley with her napkin.

* * *

The change of clothes Winter had brought with her was...quite generic so to speak. Despite the three Schnee siblings bringing two backpacks and a duffel bag each, the number of clothes they could bring was very limited. 

They had just arrived back at the house and were changing into clothes that were more comfortable to be seen wearing out in public. 

Winter changed into a pair of blue jeans, dark gray mountain boots, a slightly torn light blue t-shirt and a gray jacket. It wasn't her _greatest_ choice of clothing, but it looked nice. Winter stepped out of her room and walked down the stairs to where Whitley and Weiss were playing a game of _Call Of Duty: Black Ops_ on their laptops. 

"I'm going out, you two. Leftovers are in the fridge, don't burn the house down and don't break the law." Winter said, grabbing her black messenger bag and keys. Whitley rolled his eyes.

"It's not breaking the law if you don't get caught." Whitley pointed out, keeping his eyes on his screen. 

"Alright, don't get caught. I'll be back in a few." Winter said before making her way out of the front door.

It was a relatively pleasant mid-morning. The skies were a light shade of gray, which wasn't surprising since Maine had the four weather options of cloudy, snowy, rainy, or foggy. There was no in-between.

Walking on the gray concrete that made up the sidewalk, Winter shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket and began thinking, something she really hadn't been able to do since arriving in Maine. It was strange, given the fact that Winter was a very thoughtful person.

With Winter and her younger brother and sister away from Chicago and Jacques, Winter knew she should have felt safe.

But she didn't.

With every little thing she did, Winter half-expected to hear Jacques' angry, criticizing voice, telling her to act like an adult. Winter was twenty-two years old. She was fully capable of acting like an adult. But Jacques always thought otherwise.

There was a time where Jacques had gotten so angry with Winter that he took a half-empty wine bottle and smashed it against Winter's ribs three times before the small cracks became shards of shattered and fragmented pieces of dark glass that scattered over the icy cold hardwood floor.

Hell, if Winter was being honest, that event was not that long ago. 

Only four days before Winter decided it was time to leave.

Her ribs ached at the memory. The gashes and tears at her side were deep and bloody. When the doctors at the hospital asked what had happened, Winter said she fell over onto a glass of wine that her mother had left laying around. But she knew so damn well that the doctors knew she was lying. The dark bruises that lined that bloody wounds were obviously from blunt trauma. A rookie cop could even see that.

It wasn't until she heard muffled barking that Winter realized she was somewhere downtown.

Glancing up, Winter caught sight of a sign atop a large building that looked as if it had once been a clothing store.

_Happy Huntresses' Dog Shelter_

Winter let out a soft huff of amusement. The title was so cheesy, yet charming at the same time. But hey, who couldn't say no to dogs?

Pulling the entrance door open, Winter slipped inside.

_Since you turned the tables on me_

_I've been steady and learnin' lonely_

_Keepin' this turntable spinnin'_

_Everything from Jones to Jennings_

Country music played from a speaker overhead. It wasn't too loud, but somewhere between loud and quiet, that was turned up just enough to be heard over the occasional bark of a dog. The front room was cozy. A few armchairs had been arranged next to the windows, along with a smooth, dark oak wood coffee table with a stack of magazines and two or three books.

In the corner of the room was a medium-sized dog bed that was dark gray in color. In the bed was a dog with black fur and floppy ears, which pricked up as soon as she saw Winter.

The dog, Blacky, judging by the white piece of paper with bold army font letters that spelled out **_"Colonel Blacky"_** , was the same dog Winter, Weiss, and Whitley had seen when they had arrived in Maine. 

_Guess it isn't a stray._ Winter thought.

Winter kneeled down as Blacky hopped up onto her paws and trotted towards Winter, her black tail thrashing behind her. Winter ran her fingers through short, black fur as Blacky licked Winter's cheek.

"Looks like you've met Colonel Blacky around here at some point. She isn't that friendly when someone new walks through the door."

Winter inhaled sharply and turned around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Record Year - Eric Church
> 
> #IWroteThisInsteadOfSleeping


	3. Robyn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winter meets the owner of Happy Huntresses' Dog Shelter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys have any questions about the story you can go ahead and put your questions in the comments and I will answer them to the best of my ability.

A woman stood in front of the door that led to what Winter believed to be the cages where the dogs were. The woman had light blonde hair that was pulled up into a messy ponytail. She had stormy violet eyes that had a hint of smugness in them. The woman had tan-ish skin and two dark beauty marks, one below her right eye and one under the left corner of her mouth. The woman wore dark blue jeans that were slightly torn. She wore a faded green t-shirt that had a small white bird-like symbol on the left breast. 

Winter had to look away from the blonde-haired woman to avoid staring.

"I-I...saw this dog yesterday..with my younger siblings. We thought she was a stray." Winter said, cursing herself mentally for how she stammered. The woman standing next to the door chuckled softly.

"Blacky practically runs this town. She isn't a stray, but she's also not owned either. She lives here at the shelter and wanders around when she's bored." the woman explained, walking towards the black-furred dog and kneeling down to scratch behind Blacky's left ear.

"I'm Robyn, by the way." The woman said, flashing Winter a warm smile that made Winter's cheeks flush a faint pink.

"Winter." The white-haired woman said, smiling nervously. Robyn chuckled quietly before standing up and walking towards the front desk, going through a folder that had some papers inside.

"You new here?" Robyn asked, looking at Winter, who nodded in reply.

"We're from Chicago. Flew in just yesterday." Winter said. Robyn tilted her head, raising a dark eyebrow in confusion.

"'We'?" 

"My two younger siblings came with me," Winter explained, sighing quietly. Robyn hummed in response, looking back down at the papers. There was silence between the two that was only broken by the country music playing over the speakers.

_Slowly plannin' my survival_

_In a three-foot stack of vinyl_

_Since you had to walk outta here_

_I've been havin' a record year_

"Robyn, I thought we agreed that we wouldn't play country music anymore."

Winter turned around to watch as a woman with long blue hair and sharp yellow eyes walk in. She wore light gray pants and a light tan jacket over a navy blue shirt.

"It's my shelter, May. If you wanna change the playlist, you'll have to fight me first." Robyn said, grinning at the blue-haired woman. May rolled her eyes.

"I hope your playlist has my music in there too," May grumbled, crossing her arms. Robyn laughed.

"Yes, May, your sacred Linkin Park is in the playlist." Robyn chuckled, closing the folder. May seemed to be satisfied with that and she looked at Winter.

"Whatever you do, do _not_ let Robyn anywhere near your Spotify playlists," May said. Winter raised a brow and grinned.

"I'll keep that in mind." The white-haired woman replied.

_I bet you thought before you left_

"Anyway, the name's May. And you are?"

_I'd just sit in silence by myself_

"Winter."

_Turn this house into a jail_

May flashed Winter a quick smile before turning back to Robyn. The two exchanged a few words, but Winter didn't pay any attention to it. She simply looked at Blacky, lost in thought. 

_Dyin' slow in a livin' hell_

Winter had not really thought about how she would pay for food and the house. If anything, the move from Chicago to Maine was kind of last minute. Winter still had her credit cards and such, but it would only hold her and her siblings up for a while. 

"I should probably head home. I'll..see you two later." Winter said, standing up. Robyn nodded and May gave her a thumbs up.

"See ya, Winter," Robyn said.

Winter flash the two a smile and waved before slipping out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter ;w;
> 
> I'll make it up to you guys, promise.


End file.
